Assignment: Gaining Trust With Vulnerable Populations

Gaining Trust with Vulnerable Populations

The U.S. health care system has been a subject of debate for many years, with opinions being divided on its successes and failures. There is no denying that the system has made remarkable strides in terms of access and quality, but the issue of cost remains a significant challenge. With health care expenses rising significantly over the years, an increasing number of Americans are struggling to afford quality coverage (Dutta et al., 2021). Nevertheless, there have been valuable efforts to reform the system, such as the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the shift towards value-based care. It is essential to continue exploring ways to improve the U.S. health care system, finding solutions that balance the cost, access, and quality of healthcare for all Americans. The purpose of this assignment is to describe a vulnerable population that is impacted by a form of cultural disparity.

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African Americans
The selected vulnerable population for this assignment is African Americans. African Americans or sometimes called Black Americans are considered vulnerable groups in healthcare for a number of reasons. The origins of this vulnerability primarily stem from the deep-rooted history of racial inequality in the United States, which has been long-standing since the beginnings of slavery centuries ago. As such, African Americans today still face many forms of discrimination and disparities in accessing healthcare services and resources, a scenario that further complicates their health outcomes and overall well-being (Como et al., 2019). Furthermore, minorities often lack access to quality preventive care services such as health screenings, immunizations, mental health services or treatment for chronic conditions due to lack of insurance coverage or limited economic resources; this limits their ability to manage health problems before they become more serious.
Research has revealed that racism can be a form of stress itself and can have an accumulative effect on an individual’s psychological functioning over time (Como et al., 2019). Such persistent racial biases also contribute heavily towards feelings among minorities about not receiving adequate healthcare when compared with other races – contributing towards inferior quality of healthcare received. In summary, these factors cause African Americans to remain one of the most vulnerable socio-demographic groups when it comes accessing proper medical.
Elements that Contribute to Distrust
The mistrust of the healthcare system among African Americans is rooted in centuries of discrimination, racism and abuse experienced by members of this community (Blödt et al., 2021). This issue is further compounded by current disparities in care and inequality, which continues to be prevalent across health care settings. African Americans generally report lower levels of trust toward providers than other groups due to their experiences navigating the system, in particular concerning their access to quality care.
Trust is extremely important for effective treatment; research has shown that when patients have strong connections with their healthcare providers and hold higher levels of trust between themselves, they tend to have better health outcomes. Greater patient-provider trust can lead to improved adherence rates, increased comfort discussing sensitive information with a provider and an enhanced understanding of medical advice given by clinicians (Gemelas et al., 2021). If a patient does not feel comfortable trusting his or her provider or believe that they are receiving adequate treatment then it can be difficult for them to obtain quality health care services – this could even mean missing appointments or refusing tests altogether. Furthermore, if there is no connection between the patient-provider relationship then communication regarding treatments will be strained leading diagnoses as well as proposed solutions being less likely to succeed as intended.
Finally maintaining strong relationships and building trust with medical professionals are equally essential components for effective health treatment amongst African American communities including other minority populations.
Foundations for U.S Healthcare System
The U.S. health care system has used a variety of foundations to study those with special health needs both historically and today. Historically, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was one of the earliest foundations for research with special populations in healthcare, founded in 1887 as the Laboratory of Hygiene within the Marine Hospital Service (MHS) (Azoulay & Li, 2020), now known as the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). The NIH initially focused on improving public health through scientific research into infectious diseases like cholera or typhoid fever and later expanded its scope to include studies on other chronic health conditions such as cancer, mental illness and substance use disorders.
In addition to the NIH, there are several organizations that specialize in researching those with special healthcare needs today including: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Women’s Health (OWH), which established The Healthy People Initiative to promote better overall physical and mental health among all Americans, The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) which focuses on creating high-quality evidence-based practices for patients with medical conditions, The CDC Office of Minority Health which promotes population-based public health efforts by collaborating research activities between federal agencies, academia and non-profits (CDC, 2020), And finally, the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine which works towards reducing maternal mortality rates across communities nationwide.
Overall, these foundations enable different populations recognize gaps in the understanding about particular medical situations allowing them to move forward in more effective ways when it comes to providing quality care for those affected. This is essential not just from an ethical standpoint but also from a financial cost perspective; since any improvements here could result in improved outcomes at lower costs over time – something that is becoming increasingly important given the current restricted budgetary resources.
Steps That Health Care Professionals and Institutions Can Take To
Overcome the Effects of The Cultural Disparity
Health care professionals and institutions have a huge responsibility to ensure that all patients receive the best possible care—without any form of discrimination or cultural disparity. To overcome these effects, a few steps should be taken. First, health care professionals must focus on developing better communication with minority groups (Hadi-Moghaddam et al., 2021). This includes increased education on culturally sensitive language and practices; as well as having more diverse staff members from different cultures working at hospitals and out-patient centers. By doing this, it can help create an environment where minorities feel more comfortable discussing their needs with their healthcare provider(s).
Secondly, organizations need to allocate resources to creating programs that expand community outreach in the areas they serve. These could include offering free health screenings or prevention workshops focused on topics relevant to specific minority groups in that area such as HIV/AIDS awareness or diabetes control & prevention for African Americans specifically (Hadi-Moghaddam et al., 2021).
Thirdly, educational institutions should strive for cultural competence among medical students by introducing courses about global health equity within existing curriculums and facilitating multicultural exchanges between doctors from various countries (Gemelas et al., 2021). Additionally, offering scholarships for underrepresented populations can help encourage greater participation of minorities in the field of medicine overall.
Finally, policymakers ought to provide incentives which support healthcare providers who make long term investments into eliminating disparities based upon race/ethnicity or other culturally identifiable factors within certain communities they serve—which may include providing additional funding to clinics located in disadvantaged areas so they can offer better quality services than what is currently available there now.
Conclusion
African Americans today still face many forms of discrimination and disparities when it comes to access to healthcare services and resources, a scenario that further complicates their health outcomes and overall well-being. maintaining strong relationships and building trust with medical professionals are equally essential components for effective health treatment amongst African American communities including other minority populations.

References
Azoulay, P., & Li, D. (2020). Scientific grant funding (Vol. 26889). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Blödt, S., Müller‐Nordhorn, J., Seifert, G., & Holmberg, C. (2021). Trust, medical expertise and humaneness: A qualitative study on people with cancer’satisfaction with medical care. Health Expectations, 24(2), 317-326. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/hex.13171
CDC, A. W. (2020). Centers for disease control and prevention. CDC, A. W. (2020). 10.1001/jama.283.15.1955-JWR0419-5-1
Como, D. H., Stein Duker, L. I., Polido, J. C., & Cermak, S. A. (2019). The persistence of oral health disparities for African American children: a scoping review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(5), 710. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16050710
Dutta, N., Maini, A., Afolabi, F., Forrest, D., Golding, B., Salami, R. K., & Kumar, S. (2021). Promoting cultural diversity and inclusion in undergraduate primary care education. Education for Primary Care, 32(4), 192-197. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14739879.2021.1900749
Gemelas, J., Davison, J., Keltner, C., & Ing, S. (2021). Inequities in employment by race, ethnicity, and sector during COVID-19. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 1-6. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40615-021-00963-3
Hadi-Moghaddam, M., Karimollahi, M., & Aghamohammadi, M. (2021). Nurses’ trust in managers and its relationship with nurses’ performance behaviors: a descriptive-correlational study. BMC nursing, 20(1), 1-6. https://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12912-021-00653-9

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Assessment Description

For this assignment, you will apply critical thinking to what you have learned up to this point in this course regarding the successes and failures of the U.S. health care system as it relates to issues of cost, access, and quality. You are expected to address these topics from the perspective of a medical professional that is both ethical and respectful.

Select a vulnerable population that is impacted by a form of cultural disparity. Write a 1,000- to 1,200-word paper that addresses the following:

Describe your selected population, and explain what factors and characteristics contribute to them being identified as vulnerable.

Describe elements that contribute to this population’s distrust of the health care system and/or medical treatments. Why is trust important? If a patient does not trust health care providers, can he or she receive effective treatment? Why or why not?

Identify foundations that the U.S. health care system has used to study those with special health needs both historically and today?

Identify steps that health care professionals and institutions can take to overcome the effects of the cultural disparity.

Do not include the title page or the references page when determining whether you have reached the required word count for this assignment.

A minimum of three references, in addition to your textbook, are required for this assignment.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

This week of focus is on issues of cost, access, and quality. As you complete your assignment this week, you are asked to address these topics from the perspective of a medical professional that is both ethical and respectful.

For your assignment this week you will select a vulnerable population that is impacted by a form of cultural disparity. Be sure to do the weekly reading before starting your assignment so that you know exactly what the term ‘vulnerable population’ means with respect to health care. You may select a minority population, elderly, disabled, or any other population that meets out textbook’s definition of vulnerable.

Please be sure to check your word count to ensure your paper is 1,000 – 1,200 words before submitting it for grading.